In conventional head gimbal assembly (HGA) technology utilized in magnetic disk drives, the slider is mechanically attached to the flexure of the suspension by epoxy bonding. The electrical connection between the thin film magnetic head transducer and the read/write electronics is made by twisted pairs of wires which run the length of the suspension. The ends of these wires are bonded to the gold transducer termination pads on the slider.
In a new generation of HGA technology, the suspension is comprised of a laminated structure. The twisted pairs of wires of the old technology are replaced by conductors that are etched into one of the layers of the laminated suspension. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,623 illustrates the use of a suspension having etched copper lead structures. In another variation of this technology, the conductors are formed by vapor deposition plating. The electrical connections between the head transducer and the conductors are achieved by soldering. Generally, a solder joint is established between a reflowed solder bump on the slider and either the copper lead pads or to solder bumps applied to the lead pads. In this methodology, the solder bump is applied to the slider at the wafer level. Application of the solder at this level leads to many problems, such as oxidation of the solder bump which inhibits good joint formation.
In general, the use of solder balls for attaching the slider to a slider support means is known in the art. For example, Ainslie et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,761,699, disclose the use of reflowed solder balls for making both the mechanical attachment of the slider to the suspension and the electrical connection of the transducer to the disk file read/write electronics. Additionally, Ainslie et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,914, disclose a soldering technique for making an electrical attachment of a cable to a transducer on the backside of a slider. In the semiconductor industry, electrical connections within a semiconductor device have long been made using Tape Automated Bonding (TAB) techniques. For example U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,855 illustrates the use of a laser technique to produce ball-like areas on the ends of leads that are used to make electrical connections in the semiconductor device.